Myntra brands Roadster, HRX to feature in Shoppers Stop stores

Myntra, the largest online fashion retailer in India that was acquired by Flipkart.com for about $300 million in 2014, has about a dozen private brands.Rasul Bailay | ET Bureau | October 13, 2016, 08:23 IST

“One option is you increase your own sales and companies like Shoppers Stop has limitation on that because they have to open more stores.”NEW DELHI: Myntra.com is close to entering an agreement with Shoppers Stop to sell the Bengaluru-based company’s private labels in the country’s largest department store chain, giving Myntra’s own brands, including Roadster and HRX, a presence in physical stores for the first time.

Two people familiar with the development said both the companies are in the final stages of the agreement that will also pave way for Shoppers Stop to sell its own private labels on Myntra’s online platform.

One of the persons said two former Shoppers Stop veterans now with Myntra including Bindu Mendonca, former head of merchandising at Shoppers Stop and currently heading women’s and kids fashion at Myntra, and Manohar Kamath, former chief operating officer at Shoppers Stop and now heading Myntra’s fashion brands, were instrumental in the deal.

Myntra declined to comment on the proposed alliance as did Shoppers Stop.

While Shoppers Stop sells its private brands on Amazon and Snapdeal, it will be for the first time Myntra’s own brands will be transcending the online barrier to offline display and sales. Analysts say this would be a win-win for both Myntra and Shoppers Stop.

“Private labels are such a thing now, everybody is looking for more places where they can sell their products because volumes are an issue,” says Harminder Sahni, founder of retail consultancy Wazir Advisors.

“One option is you increase your own sales and companies like Shoppers Stop has limitation on that because they have to open more stores.”

Myntra, the largest online fashion retailer in India that was acquired by Flipkart.com for about $300 million in 2014, has about a dozen private brands and has ambitions to become one of the country’s largest fashion companies through its portfolio of brands including celebrity brands including cricket star Virat Kohli’s Wrogn and Bollywood’s Hrithik Roshan’s HRX and All About You by Deepika Padukone.